South Mississippi man accused in theft of Ala. family's lemur

LUCEDALE — A south Mississippi man is accused of stealing a pet primate from an Alabama family and demanding a cash reward the family offered for its return.

The 2-year-old ring-tailed lemur named Gizmo was taken during a January burglary of a home in Mobile, Ala. The pet is valued at $1,500.

George County, Miss., Sheriff Dean Howell says Wednesday that James Edward Welborn Jr. of Lucedale, Miss., was being held in the Mobile County, Ala., jail. Officials want to return him to Mississippi to charge him with possession of stolen property.

Howell says the lemur’s owner offered a reward and someone who had seen the animal contacted the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.

Welborn was arrested after contacting the lemur’s owner with information about its location and seeking the reward, Howell says.